How the light changes today

Each colour is a stage of the sky, from full night to full daylight and back. The marker is the time in Johannesburg right now.

Morning

Astronomical dawn04:03
Nautical dawn04:32
Civil dawn · blue hour05:00
Golden hour begins05:09
Sunrise05:24
Golden hour ends05:55

Solar noon

11:52

Sun 76.0° above the horizon

Evening

Golden hour begins17:49
Sunset18:20
Golden hour ends · blue hour18:35
Civil dusk18:44
Nautical dusk19:12
Astronomical dusk19:41

What do civil, nautical and astronomical twilight mean? Read the guide →

Where the sun rises and sets

Directions from Johannesburg today. The shaded fans show how far sunrise and sunset swing between June and December; the dot is the sun right now.

Sunrise at 05:24In June it rises at 64° ENE, in December at 117° ESE104° ESE

Sunset at 18:20In June it sets at 296° WNW, in December at 243° WSW256° WSW

Coming up in Johannesburg

Days are getting longer

+1.4 min a day

Longest day 21 Dec, in 57 days

Sunrise and sunset on any date

Pick a day of 2026 to see its sunrise, sunset and daylight in Johannesburg.

Choose a date

Monday, 21 December 2026

Sunrise05:12

Sunset18:59

Daylight13 h 47 min

First light (civil dawn): 04:46 · Last light (civil dusk): 19:26
Moon 90% lit

The moon tonight

Full moon

99% lit · 14.0 days old

Moonrise: 17:47
Moonset: 04:31
Full moon: tomorrow
New moon: 9 Nov

Today
99%

Mon
100%

Tue
97%

Wed
92%

Thu
85%

Fri
76%

Sat
65%

Today in Johannesburg

Today the sun rises over Johannesburg at 05:24 and sets at 18:20, giving 12 h 56 min of daylight.

Being south of the equator, Johannesburg has its longest days in December and its shortest in June.

Across 2026 the day length in Johannesburg swings by 3 h 17 min, from 10 h 30 min on 21 June to 13 h 47 min on 21 December.

The moon is waxing tonight, 99% lit.

A year of daylight in Johannesburg

Every column is one day of 2026, from midnight at the top to midnight at the bottom. Hover or drag across it to read any day.

Longest day

13 h 47 min

21 December

Shortest day

10 h 30 min

21 June

Earliest sunrise

05:07

1 December, not on the longest day

Latest sunset

19:05

11 January

Today Sunrise 05:24 Sunset 18:20 Daylight 12 h 56 min Dark from 19:41

DaylightCivil twilightNautical twilightAstronomical twilightNight

The light in Johannesburg, season by season

Through the year

Earliest sunset of the year: 17:23 on 8 June, 13 days before the shortest day.
Latest sunrise: 06:56 on 3 July, 12 days after the shortest day.

For photographers

Golden hour this evening: 17:49–18:35, with the sun low in the west (257°).
Blue hour right after: 18:35–18:44.
Over the week the evening golden hour moves from 17:49 today to 17:52 on 31 October.
Tomorrow's morning golden hour: 05:08–05:54.

Johannesburg compared with other cities

How much daylight each city gets between the shortest and the longest day of 2026.

Durban, on the same clock, sees the sun rise 16 min earlier than Johannesburg today.

On 21 June Dubai gets 3 h 12 min more daylight than Johannesburg, and on 21 December 3 h 12 min less.

JohannesburgThis page

10 h 30 min – 13 h 47 min

Pretoria53 km away

10 h 32 min – 13 h 45 min

Durban501 km away

10 h 13 min – 14 h 4 min

Cape Town1,262 km away

9 h 54 min – 14 h 25 min

Dubai6,409 km away

10 h 35 min – 13 h 42 min

Each bar runs from the shortest to the longest day of the year.

October 2026 in Johannesburg

Sunrise, sunset and day length for every day of the month. The bar shows where the daylight falls in the 24 hours.

Sunrise, sunset and day length for every day of October 2026 in Johannesburg, ZA.
Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Day length	Change
1Thu	05:48	18:08	12 h 20 min	+1 min
2Fri	05:47	18:08	12 h 22 min	+2 min
3Sat	05:45	18:09	12 h 23 min	+1 min
4Sun	05:44	18:09	12 h 25 min	+2 min
5Mon	05:43	18:10	12 h 26 min	+1 min
6Tue	05:42	18:10	12 h 28 min	+2 min
7Wed	05:41	18:11	12 h 29 min	+1 min
8Thu	05:40	18:11	12 h 31 min	+2 min
9Fri	05:39	18:12	12 h 32 min	+1 min
10Sat	05:38	18:12	12 h 34 min	+2 min
11Sun	05:37	18:13	12 h 35 min	+1 min
12Mon	05:36	18:13	12 h 37 min	+2 min
13Tue	05:35	18:14	12 h 39 min	+2 min
14Wed	05:34	18:14	12 h 40 min	+1 min
15Thu	05:33	18:15	12 h 42 min	+2 min
16Fri	05:32	18:15	12 h 43 min	+1 min
17Sat	05:31	18:16	12 h 45 min	+2 min
18Sun	05:30	18:16	12 h 46 min	+1 min
19Mon	05:29	18:17	12 h 48 min	+2 min
20Tue	05:28	18:17	12 h 49 min	+1 min
21Wed	05:27	18:18	12 h 50 min	+1 min
22Thu	05:26	18:18	12 h 52 min	+2 min
23Fri	05:26	18:19	12 h 53 min	+1 min
24Sat	05:25	18:20	12 h 55 min	+2 min
25Sun	05:24	18:20	12 h 56 min	+1 min
26Mon	05:23	18:21	12 h 58 min	+2 min
27Tue	05:22	18:21	12 h 59 min	+1 min
28Wed	05:21	18:22	13 h 1 min	+2 min
29Thu	05:21	18:23	13 h 2 min	+1 min
30Fri	05:20	18:23	13 h 3 min	+1 min
31Sat	05:19	18:24	13 h 5 min	+2 min

Common questions about the sun in Johannesburg

What time does the sun rise in Johannesburg?

Today the sun rises in Johannesburg at 05:24, local time.

What time does the sun set in Johannesburg?

Today the sun sets in Johannesburg at 18:20, local time.

How long is the day in Johannesburg today?

Johannesburg gets 12 h 56 min of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset.

When is the longest day of the year in Johannesburg?

The longest day of 2026 in Johannesburg is 21 December, with 13 h 47 min of daylight.

What phase is the moon in tonight?

The moon is waxing over Johannesburg tonight, 99% lit.

Where does the sun rise in Johannesburg?

Today it rises in the east (104°). Through the year the sunrise point swings from the north-east (64°) in June to the south-east (117°) in December.

When is golden hour in Johannesburg today?

In the morning from 05:09 to 05:55, and in the evening from 17:49 to 18:35.

When is the earliest sunset in Johannesburg?

On 8 June, at 17:23. It comes 13 days before the shortest day, which is 21 June.

Cities at the same latitude as Johannesburg

At a similar latitude the day lasts almost the same on any date; the clock time of sunrise and sunset still depends on each time zone.

Brisbane Rio de Janeiro

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Sunrise and sunset in Johannesburg